Posted by DonR_NYC on 4/20/10 10:24am
Msg #332487

ATTENTION NYS NOTARIES

If your Notary Commission expires soon be advised it is taking 12 weeks or more for the state to process renewals.

I sent mine into the state in January and I'm still waiting; meanwhile my commission expired 2 weeks ago. I called Albany and they claim it will be a few more weeks due to budget cuts.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 4/20/10 10:34am
Msg #332489

Wow....mine expires in June

I sent my paperwork in end of March and already have new commission, stamp, etc etc

Reply by Michelle/AL on 4/20/10 11:13am
Msg #332494

DonR, I know you must be pissed!

Who would've thought that a two months would not have been enough time for Albany to process your paperwork! Have you thought about driving to Albany? I know it's about a six hour drive, right? Is there nothing else you can do to speed them along?

Reply by PAW on 4/20/10 12:17pm
Msg #332528

Re: DonR, I know you must be pissed!

The big delays are not only effecting licensing of professionals, including commission renewals for notaries, but major impact on processing requests for public records (birth certificates are taking 8 to 10 weeks from NYC) and processing apostille requests from counties and Albany. The process is taking w-a-a-a-a-y too long, if you ask me. There must be some way NY can speed up the process, especially NY city and county.

Reply by Robert/FL on 4/20/10 1:26pm
Msg #332541

Re: DonR, I know you must be pissed!

I don't know what type of database system New York uses for vital records, but in Florida the turn around time for vital records is less than a week. The state now issues "computer copies", i.e. computer-generated printouts of the most pertinent information from vital records, rather than printing copies of the original record from microfiche. (So yes, for all those claiming the Obama birth certificate to be fake - hate to tell you, but many, many states are issuing certifications in that same type of format, including Florida) This has its ups and downs; from a genealogical perspective a "photocopy/book copy" certification is preferred to a "computer copy", but for routine legal purposes, getting a vital record in less than a week is a major plus. Not to mention that all of our local health department offices can issue computer-generated birth certifications for people born anywhere in the state from 1917 to present.

The recording system we have in Florida is really quite good - all documents are scanned and immediately available for purchasing copies. Recording vital records in that fashion would make it super easy for clerks to issue certified copies.

But keep in mind - no matter how busy these government agencies say they are ... take a trip down to their office and you'll find twenty supervisors in the back sipping coffee and telling jokes, with one person up at the front counter to help a line of 50 customers and answer phones.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 4/20/10 5:47pm
Msg #332591

NY is in total dysfunction at this point...

... so the delays are not unexpected. We have a governor who was not elected to the position and doesn't know what he's doing, and a lieutenant governor who was never elected to ANY position. State legislature is a circus, so they're no help. Budgets have been slashed to the bone, and the governor has unilaterally decide to withhold payment of state aid that municipalities had been been relying on for THEIR budgets, so it all just trickled down.

NY has also stopped issuing income tax refunds for several weeks, because the state was on the verge of running out of money - that's particularly annoying, because it's not even the state's money (and no, they won't be paying interest because of the delay).

So if you're experiencing some problems, feel sorry for those of us who live here...

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 4/20/10 11:15am
Msg #332497

Don, nice to hear from you!

I hope you and your family are well!

Reply by MikeC/NY on 4/20/10 5:31pm
Msg #332587

Thanks for the heads up - mine expires in July, I just got the renewal notice the other day. Guess I had better get it in the mail ASAP...